Iqbal: Turkey’s Economy Has Slowed After Its Strength in Last Quarter

Al Naji Iqbal, Governor of the Turkish Central Bank, said that Turkey’s economic growth recorded a strong trend at the end of 2020, but it slowed according to recent indicators, partly due to the tightening of monetary policy that began in August and the slowdown in credit growth.

In the bank’s quarterly inflation update, which was broadcast online, Iqbal said that the overall recovery in the second half of last year led to improved employment in the wake of the first wave of the Corona pandemic that the world witnessed in 2020.

Since November, the central bank has raised the benchmark interest rate to 17% from 10.25%. In the update, Iqbal indicated that the restrictions related to fighting the virus in recent times have slowed some sectors of the economy.